Saturday 11/16/2002

Since we arrived at our hotel in the evening and hadn't had much sleep while
traveling for the previous day and a half, we both had a good night's sleep
last night and woke up feeling refreshed and pretty much oriented to our new
time zone - Beijing is 13 hours ahead of Louisville. We head downstairs and
find that the Jinglun Hotel has an excellent breakfast buffet  a good mix
of Chinese and Western dishes. I have bread with butter and jelly, fried rice,
bacon, and fruit along with a cup of hot tea. Because the water has been
boiled, hot tea is a pretty safe drink choice. In the dining room we meet
several other couples from our adoption group who arrived in China before us.
Apparently our little group from the previous night was the last to arrive.
After breakfast we board a tour bus for our day of sightseeing in Beijing.

Beijing is incredibly densely populated! The streets are packed with busses,
cars, bikes, and pedestrians. The high-rises around our hotel are interspersed
with what Cynthia refers to as match box apartments". These are tall
buildings (20 or 30 floors) filled with tiny apartments, lined up for block
after block. Although Im sure that they exist, we see no
single-family dwellings in Beijing (nor anywhere else we visit in China). For
being so big and densely populated, were struck by how clean and nice
Beijing is. The streets and sidewalks are free of trash and seem to be kept in
excellent condition. Im sure there are plenty of places in this city
where this is not the case, but we didn't see them.

Our first stop is Tiananmen Square, which turns out to be quite close to our
hotel. The square is huge - 100 acres of pavement which can accomodate over
500,000 people! The square is flanked on either side by large government
buildings. At one end is the Tiananmen Gate (or Gate of Heavenly Peace), which
is a large red gate bearing a picture of Mao Tse Tung which leads to the
Forbidden City (more on that later). At the other end of the square is
Maos mausoleum. A long line of Chinese snakes up the stairway leading to
the tomb. They're waiting to enter and get a glimpse of his body which, after his
death, was preserved and put on public display. Beside Mao's mausoleum are the
ancient Quianmen Gates, which were originally part of the wall that surrounded
Beijing and protected the city from invasion.

Its windy and quite cold on the square and were glad that we
thought to pack our hats and gloves. Those of our group who didnt are
quickly outfitted by street vendors. These vendors are everywhere, selling
hats, gloves, books, and postcards and trying very hard to pass off counterfeit
Yuan to unsuspecting tourists. The slightest sign of interest prompts a
relentless sales pitch - we quickly learn to just ignore them. We also see lots
of soldiers in the square, wearing crisp green uniforms and marching or
standing at attention before the buildings. Up close we see that theyre
quite young, just boys really, but they look quite serious. There are plenty of
tourists as well (nearly all Chinese) but its not crowded at all because
its such a vast space.

After a brief orientation from Cynthia, the group splits up and we make a
quick circuit of the square, looking at the buildings
and snapping pictures. As we walk Im struck by the realization that
Im actually in China and Im actually standing in the middle of
Tiananmen Square - its staggering! After about 30 minutes we regroup at
the far end of the square, where Cynthia is waiting for us. She leads us down a
flight of steps, though a pedestrian tunnel which crosses under a busy street,
and then back up on the other side to emerge in front of the Tiananmen Gate.
These pedestrian tunnels are quite popular in China - with all of the crazy
traffic it would be nearly impossible to cross at street level. We pass through
a large opening in the Tiananmen Gate, directly below the enormous portrait of
Chairman Mao, and find ourselves inside the Forbidden City. This is the ancient
palace complex which was used for centuries by Chinese emperors. These days
it's officially known as the Palace Museum, but no one actually uses that name,
everyone still refers to it as the Forbidden City. Its amazing to be in a
legendary place like this!

Within the Forbidden City we seem to attract more attention from the locals
 nothing unfriendly, just curiosity. We stop for a group photo and many
of the Chinese tourists stop to look, smiling and snapping pictures of us.
Theres one Caucasian child with our group, a blond girl who is 7 or 8
years old. As we pass through the Forbidden City several Chinese families stop
and ask if shell pose for a picture with their children. She doesnt
mind, but seems puzzled as to how she's become such a celebrity.

The Forbidden City itself is a massive walled complex (186 acres) filled
with beautiful buildings. The buildings all feature elaborate carvings and
fancy curved roof lines. No trees grow within the complex - were told
that because all of the buildings are constructed of wood the emperors were
very afraid of fire. The open spaces between buildings are all paved with
stones. Gigantic iron cauldrons which were used to hold water for fighting
fires are everywhere.

Cynthia does a excellent job guiding us through the Forbidden City and
explaining its history. She carries a small blue FTIA flag on a telescoping
pole and we quickly become conditioned to follow the flag like a line of
ducklings following their mother. We notice quite other tour groups following
flags of various colors. Its really quite useful in some of the crowded
places well visit.

At the exit to the Forbidden City we stop for a bathroom break before
boarding our bus. Cynthina explains to us that there are no Western toilets
here, only Chinese. I realize that this is what the strange fixture I saw in
the Tokyo airport was. Chinese toilets are porcelain bowls set level with the
floor, over which one squats to do ones business. It seems like it would
require strong leg muscles and a pretty good sense of balance to use them.
Thankfully I dont have to find out. We soon take to referring to them as
squat pots. Toilet paper is strictly bring your own, and is not
flushed after being used, but is instead deposited in a basket beside the
toilet.

We climb back onto our tour bus and head for lunch. For the first half hour
we drive very slowly through heavy traffic  cars, busses, bicycles, and
pedestrians. Both sides of the street are lined tiny shops. The function of
some, like the fruit shop, is obvious, while others we can only guess at. In
this section of Beijing things are not so clean and new as they were in the
area around our hotel. This is much closer to what I had imagined China would
be like.

Traffic flow in Beijing is, to say the least, unconventional. The streets
are filled with cars, taxis, busses, bicycles, and pedestrians. All of these
vehicles merge and flow following a set of rules which we could never quite
puzzle out. Horns sound continuously, but no one seems to be getting angry -
apparently theyre using their horns to signal to one another. The traffic
flow is quite cooperative, no one ever comes to a full stop, they just slow to
let opposing traffic merge in. At times its quite unnerving to watch out
of the window as our bus makes a turn through a line of pedestrians and
bicycles which never actually stops moving. But everyone seems to be following
the same set of rules and weve seen no accidents yet.

We finally reach the highway - the traffic, and buildings, quickly thin. Now
we pass orchards and dairies and even spot several horse drawn carts pulling
loads of stones along a small road which parallels the highway. In the distance
tall jagged hills (perhaps mountains?) begin to appear. Were getting
close to the Great Wall!

But before we get to see the Great Wall we need to stop for lunch. The bus
pulls into the parking lot of a large retail building, the Friendship Shop.
Cynthia tells us that well have an hour or so here for lunch and
shopping. The inside of the Friendship Shop is a vast space filled with all
kinds of Chinese crafts: silks, jade, prints, wood carvings, and the specialty
of this shop, cloisonné. We start with a brief tour of the
cloisonné factory. Women are seated at benches creating beautiful vases
in assembly line fashion, with the pieces being passed from person to person
for the completion of each step. First fine copper wire is applied to a bare
copper pot forming the outlines of the image to be created. Then each space in
the wire frame is filled with enamel powder. The pot is fired in a kiln to melt
the enamel and, once the pot is cool, it is polished to smooth the enamel and
make it shine. Layer after layer of enamel is applied, fired, and polished
during the creation of each piece of cloisonné. Its incredibly
detailed work which is all done painstakingly by hand.

After our tour we head upstairs for lunch and the much welcome luxury of
bathrooms with Western style toilets. Our group is seated at several large
round tables with rotating centers where were served by waitresses in
bright red or blue outfits with little hats  they look just like airline
stewardesses from the 1950s. The waitresses place dish after dish of
delicious food on the rotating portion of our table. We sample everything,
spinning the center of the table to bring around whichever dish we want. The
food is excellent and were quite full by the time lunch is over.

After a brief period of shopping we get back on the bus and within minutes
catch our first glimpse of the Great Wall! The wall snakes along the mountains
in front of us, hugging each contour of the mountainside. Were visiting
the Juyong Pass, which features a looping section of the Great Wall. This
portion of the wall is very steep and, due to recent refurbishment, is in
excellent condition. Although this section is still reasonably close to
Beijing, it is not as popular with the tourists as other, closer sections are.

The wall is built of large irregular stones which were carefully fitted
together to leave no gaps between them. Its roughly 20 feet in height
and is topped by a path which is generally broad enough for 3 people to walk
side-by-side. The path is flanked by sidewalls which are 3 to 4 feet high.
Elaborate guard houses are strung along the wall, spaced about 100 yards or so
apart. Much of the path is made up of steps which are irregular (both in height
and depth) and very steep  the climb is exhausting. Prior to coming here
I noticed that people didnt talk about visiting the Great
Wall or strolling along the Great Wall, instead they
climbed the Great Wall. Now I understand.

There are a fair number of tourists at the bottom, but they quickly thin as
we climb higher and higher. Mike and I leave the rest of our group and climb to
what appears to be the highest guard tower, only to find that the wall curves
back and continues its climb to another tower which wasnt visible from
below. Upon reaching that tower we find that there is still another, higher,
tower beyond. Were tired and close to being out of time so we abandon our
quest for the highest point and begin our descent. Coming back down isnt
as physically exhausting as climbing was, but it requires a lot of
concentration to navigate the steep, irregular steps  especially when
youre tired.

Back at the bottom we treat ourselves to I Climbed the Great
Wall tee-shirts and Cokes from the souvenir shop (some things are
universal) and then its back on the bus for the return trip to the hotel.
On the way back Cynthia outlines our activities for the next few days. Most
important, of course, is that tomorrow well be getting our babies 
everyone on the bus is excited and anxious! As we ride, Cynthia passes out
copies of questionnaires which, at the request of FTIA, were completed by the
various orphanages from which our group will be adopting. We receive two pages
of questions and answers (in Chinese with English translations) about our new
baby. Most of the information is pretty much the same as what we read in the
developmental reports that came with our referral packet. We do find out that
her favorite food is steamed eggs, she likes all kinds of toys, and she doesn't
seem to be afraid of anything. The answer to the final question, regarding her
personality, is intriguing. The orphanage responds that "Chun Xian is
outgoing. She is an active girl."

The trip back takes about an
hour and its nearly dark when we get arrive at the hotel. We trudge
wearily back up to our room for room service and sleep. Tomorrow, babies!

We were intrigued by the mannequins standing outside of
this store across the street from Tiananmen Square. The all had strange,
doll-like features - not Asian, but not really Western either.

Here we are posed on Tiananmen Square. It was cold and
very windy that day.

The ancient gates which lead into Tiananmen Square.

Cyclists passing the gates to Tiananmen Square.

This is the Tiananmen Gate which leads from the square
into the Forbidden City. Notice the large portrait of Chairman Mao over the
main entrance to the gate. I had expected his picture to be plastered all over
China, but this was one of the few that we saw.

A large courtyard within the Forbidden City. A better
caption might be "On the set of The Last Emperor".

Our guide Cynthia (in the blue jacket, holding the blue
flag) provided us with an excellent tour of the Forbidden City.

Notice the carved animals along the left side of the roof
line of this building from the Forbidden City. Cynthia explained that the
number of animals denotes the status of the person who used each building with
the largest number, of course, going to the Emperor.

The Imperial Gardens which are located just outside of
the Forbidden City. Fear of fire prompted the Emperors to prohibit the planting
of trees within the city walls.

Workers in the Cloisonee factory which was located within
the Friendship Shop, just outside of Beijing. This shot shows the bare copper
pots which form the foundation on which the Cloisonee will be created.

After numerous cycles of applying enamel powder, firing
in a kiln, and polishing these pieces of Cloisenee are nearly complete.

The Great Wall stretches off into the distance for as far you
can see in either direction. It was a truly awesome sight.

Theses gatehouses guard the ground level entrance to the Juyong
Pass section of the Great Wall.

Mike descending from our climb. This shot gives a pretty
accurate idea of how steep this portion of the Great Wall really is.

Another shot which gives a feel for how steep and rugged the
climb is.

It is customary for newlywed couples to come here, attach
a pair of locks to this chain, and then throw the keys over the side of the
wall. This symbolizes the unbreakable nature of their love.

Ornate guard houses like this one were built at regular
intervals along the wall. This picture also gives an idea of the high altitude
of this section of the wall.

Curt, Mike, and I pose for a picture upon returning from the
top of the Great Wall. The sign in the background advertises "Hero
Cards" which can be purchased to commemorate a successful ascent.